A new waterfront development is in the works at Newport Harbor's Back Bay that would replace an existing RV and boat storage lot with a mixed-use residential and retail center, along with a 140-space dry stack boat storage facility.

The plan, developed by Bayside Village Marina LLC, would place 32,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and office space, a dry stack boat storage building for 140 powerboats and 49 residential units in two- to three-story high structures along Pacific Coast Highway and Bayside Drive.

Located north of the Coast Highway Bridge, the 7-acre site is currently used as a parking lot for the adjacent marina and a 170-space long-term RV and boat storage area owned and operated by the current developers. Pearson's Port – the 42-year-old floating fish market – and Southwind kayak and paddleboard rental facility also lease property on the land.

According to early renderings, the development is dubbed "Back Bay Landing," and would include a public waterfront walkway along the shoreline just south of the Coast Highway Bridge near Balboa Marina, running north to the edge of the adjacent Bayside Village mobile home park. A 55-foot-tall lighthouse is also planned that would include public access to a viewing deck at the top of the tower.

If built, the project would house the first enclosed dry stack storage facility in Southern California, joining similar projects in the works at Dana Point Harbor and Marina del Rey. The creation of a water inlet along the marina would allow for boats to be lifted in and out of the harbor onto racks in the proposed storage facility.

"Right now, as an RV and boat storage lot, it's not too aesthetically pleasing," said Michael Gelfand, president of Terra Vista Management, which operates both the Bayside Village site and the nearby Newport Dunes Resort. Gelfand said he and his family, which owns the property, have been trying to figure out what to do with the land for the past 20 years, working on ways to create something financially feasible. The inclusion of residences along with the recreational and commercial uses could be the solution.

"What we've got planned now is an extremely attractive project that would provide boat storage and boat launching capabilities in Newport where there is much demand, retail shops and restaurants to bring people to the water, and access to the shoreline that people didn't have in the past," he said.

But before specific design plans can be submitted for city and Coastal Commission approval, project manager Gordon Craig said, land use amendments to the city's general plan and the local coastal plan would be needed to get the residential component of the project approved. The site's current recreational and marine commercial designation would need to be changed to a mixed-use designation, allowing for residential units to be included.

With the Gelfand family owning and operating both the Bayside Village mobile home park and the planned development site, Craig said, the plan would be to transfer some of the unused residential density from the mobile home park issued in the city's 2006 general plan to the new development.

The next step is to get the draft environmental impact report – expected to be completed by late April – in for review to the city's Planning Commission as early as this summer.

Craig estimates that if all goes to plan, the land use designations could be approved by both the city and the Coastal Commission by 2014. Once the land use changes have been approved, the second round of regulatory approvals would commence, as the more specific structural and architectural plans will require a Coastal Development Permit that requires city and Coastal Commission nods as well. Craig expects the second round of approvals to be completed by the end of 2014.

"It's a lengthy process, but one we think is worthwhile," Craig said.

So far, a notice of preparation of the plan was issued in October 2012, and a public scoping meeting was held to get initial feedback on the project and help craft a draft environmental report for the project.

As for the current tenants, Craig said the plan would be to keep both Pearson's Port and the kayak rental facility on the property, but the RV storage would be removed.

Kayakers and standup paddle boarders row past Pearson's Port in the area of the proposed Back Bay Landing retail development in Newport Beach. EUGENE GARCIA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
An overall view of the proposed Back Bay Landing retail development stands on property adjacent to Pacific Coast highway in Newport Beach. The land currently houses a RV storage area and parking lot. EUGENE GARCIA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Gordon Craig, project manager for the proposed Back Bay Landing retail development, stands on the property in Newport Beach. The land currently houses a RV storage area and parking lot. EUGENE GARCIA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Seven acres of land along Newport Harbor's waterfront is marked for development that could include townhomes, restaurants and retail shops. The $60 million Back Bay Landing Project would replace the RV and boat storage parking lot, and would keep Pearson's Port fish market at it's current location along the harbor's main channel. TAYLOR HILL, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
An artist's rendering of the proposed Back Bay Landing Project shows what the two- and three-story mixed-use development would look like from the East Coast Highway and Bayside Drive Intersection. The project remains years away from construction, and could include 49 residential units, restaurant and retail space, a parking structure and a 140-space enclose dry boat storage building. RENDERING COURTESY OF NEWPORT BEACH
The proposed Back Bay Landing Project includes plans to develop a waterfront walkway stretching from south of the East Coast Highway Bridge near Balboa Marina, north to the edge of the Bayside Village mobile home park and marina. RENDERING COURTESY OF NEWPORT BEACH
The Back Bay Landing project is planned as an integrated, mixed-use waterfront village with visitor-serving retail and marine service commercial facilities, as well as 49 residential units. It is designed to evoke a seaside village and has a strong focus on the pedestrian experience. RENDERING COURTESY OF NEWPORT BEACH
Gordon Craig, project manager for the proposed Back Bay Landing retail development, stands on the property in Newport Beach. Craig says that this area under Pacific Coast Highway will become home to a bike trail. EUGENE GARCIA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Gordon Craig, project manager for the proposed Back Bay Landing retail development, stands on the property in Newport Beach. The land currently houses a RV storage area and parking lot. EUGENE GARCIA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Bellport Group's Lido Anchorage drystack boat storage option in Newport harbor is one of the few boat rack systems in Southern California. The proposed 140-space drystack storage facility planned as part of the Back Bay Landing project would be an enclosed builidng, keeping boats out of the elements when not on the water. TAYLOR HILL, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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